Help cannot get my pool clear, Newbie!!!

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C

clilly8781

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Aug 5, 2010
10
Ok so I have an intex ultra frame pool, I have been batteling with this pool all year, I was using the chlorine and never had any luck so a friend told me she was using bleach so in my google results I have found this amazing site which has helped my pool turn from a wonderful swampy green to a milky blue. I have been using bleach since last week. After doing some more reading I realized that I never had my CYA tested which is the reason for my heavy bleach comsumption. After buying a HTH 6-way kit from walmart I know not the best but the best I can afford right now. It did not register on that test so took it took my pool supply store where I was told it was between 10 and 20, and was told for my area needs to be between 30-50. I took that information plugged it into the pool calculator and have had the cya in the sock since monday. My pool has no look of green at all but I can not see any of the walls or the bottom. Here is the test results I just got please help me.

ta-30
Hardness 160
TC -4
PH 6.8
CYA was 10-15 on monday going to wait a week to retest.
 
Welcome to TFP.

You're doing good so far. Your biggest problem is the stock filter that comes with those pools. You need to run the pump all the time you're clearing the pool and change the filters often. A lot of people have changed out the cartridge filter for the Intex sand filter.
 
Welcome to the forum. :lol:

1. Raise your pH to 7.4 using 20 mule team borax.

2. Immediately get more bleach in your pool. The problem with that kit is it cannot test for the bleach as high as you need it to be. You need it to be about 20ppm. You will have to calculate how much that is in the pool calculator. Then you can try to dilute the pool sample with three parts water and multiply your results by four to get a rough idea where your chlorine level is. I do not like that method at all as it is wildly innaccurate and misleading when you are trying to shock and clear your pool. Nevertheless, until you get a better kit, you can give it a try.

The secret to getting the pool clear is to hold you chlorine up high (around 16-20ppm) and CONSTANTLY run the pump and filter. The intex pump and filter have a bad reputation for capacity so it may take you several days and several cartridges to get it clear but high chlorine levels and filtration will get it clear.
 
We have been running the pump/filter for 24/7 for the past week. And spraying it out every 3 hours. The local walmart is out of the filters and not sure when they will get them back in so I am looking other places to find them. I am not very happy with it at all and keep looking on craiglist and local classifieds for a sand filter just not in the budget to go buy a new one this year. Yes, that is one thing I have noticed the test kit doesnt test that high, How long after I shock it do I need to wait to let the kids swim in it. Is it best to shock it at night or to try to keep that level all the time. Im not really sure what you mean about seperating it and testing it.
 
It may be very hard to find locally. Taylortechnologies.com has one and so does tftestkits.net (my company).

It's called an FAS/DPD chlorine test and is a great benefit to help you manage your pool.
 
Ok once I get a little more funds I will def invest in one of those kits, So far I have spent almost $500 in just water bills for this pool so has depleted my pool extras for this year. So I will add a full jug of bleach tonight to get it to the shock level, how many days do I need to do this for? Will the PH being low cause the water to be cloudy?
 
Hate to say this, but unfortunately, without that test, you are wasting funds by buying stuff that just may not help or for you to be sure you are at shock level..
 
Short answer...yes

In the end that will be your cheapest route...you can dump a 96 oz jug a day to keep things at bay until it arrives. Your only other alternative is to go overboard with bleach to make sure you are at shock level, but I do not suggest doing so. The point of shocking is to raise FC to shock level and hold it at that level until you are done shocking. Without being able to measure FC at shock level you just guessing and adding to the frustration.
 

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chlorine is by far the most important and tftestkits.net is your best bet for the fas-dpd kit. The other paramaters PH TA CH CYA can be tested using the 6 way drop based HTH test kit from walmart which retails at 19.97. At that point though the TF 100 makes a lot more sense.

Hope this helps!
 
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